Best IKEA beds
IKEA sells European sizes alongside UK ones, and that single fact causes more problems than anything about the products.
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Sizing is the thing to check
IKEA frames and mattresses are frequently sold in European sizes. A European double is 140 by 200 centimetres against a UK double at 135 by 190, and a European king is 160 by 200 against a UK king at 150 by 200.
That means UK fitted sheets will not fit properly, and a UK mattress will not fit the frame. Check the dimensions in centimetres on every item, including the sheets you already own.
Past that, IKEA does what it does well: serviceable construction at low prices, with parts availability and a long guarantee. The mattresses are reasonable for the money and the frames are flat pack, which has consequences for how long they stay rigid.
The picks
The pick, if you want one answer
IKEA Hovag Review. A genuine pocket sprung mattress at a price where most of the market sells foam, from a retailer that stocks parts for years.
| Product | Best for | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| IKEA Hovag Review | Best mattress in the range | Budget to mid | – / 10 |
| IKEA Morgedal Review | Best foam option | Budget | – / 10 |
| IKEA Mattress Review | The range overall | Budget to mid | – / 10 |
| Origin Hybrid Pro Mattress | The comparison to hold in your head | £374 | 8.4 / 10 |
IKEA Hovag Review: Best mattress in the range
Budget to mid
A pocket sprung mattress rather than an open coil or foam one, which at this price is the thing worth having. Pocket springs compress independently, so on a shared bed one person turning over does not move the other side.
Buy it if
You want pocket springs at IKEA prices and the sizing works for you.
Do not buy it if
You need UK sizing and cannot find it in stock.
Read the full IKEA Hovag Review review
IKEA Morgedal Review: Best foam option
Budget
Foam at the budget end, with the usual caveat that density is what predicts how long foam lasts and almost nobody publishes it. At this money a spring layer is generally the better buy.
Buy it if
You want foam's motion isolation at a low price.
Do not buy it if
You sleep hot, or you can stretch to the sprung model.
Read the full IKEA Morgedal Review review
IKEA Mattress Review: The range overall
Budget to mid
The useful approach in any IKEA bed department is the same as in any showroom: lie on it for ten minutes in the position you actually sleep in, with a pillow of roughly your usual height. Fifteen seconds sitting on the edge tells you nothing.
Buy it if
You want to know how the lineup compares before going in.
Do not buy it if
You want one specific recommendation.
Read the full IKEA Mattress Review review
Origin Hybrid Pro Mattress: The comparison to hold in your head
£374 · 8.4 / 10
The highest scoring mattress on this site at 8.4, in UK sizes. If an IKEA mattress plus the deep fitted sheets you will need approaches this, the comparison is worth making before committing to European sizing.
Buy it if
You want to know whether an IKEA price is good value.
Do not buy it if
You are committed to buying everything in one trip.
Read the full Origin Hybrid Pro Mattress review
The sizing table to check against
| Name | UK | Europe |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 90 x 190cm | 90 x 200cm |
| Double | 135 x 190cm | 140 x 200cm |
| King | 150 x 200cm | 160 x 200cm |
Every row differs, and the length differs on singles and doubles as well as the width, which is the part people miss. A European double is ten centimetres longer than a UK one.
The practical consequences: UK fitted sheets will be short or loose, a UK mattress will not fit a European frame properly, and when you replace the mattress you are committed to the same sizing or a new frame.
IKEA does stock some UK sizes. Check the product page in centimetres rather than the size name, every time.
Flat pack, and what that means in three years
IKEA frames are designed to be assembled by the buyer, which is what makes them affordable and what decides how they age.
Cam lock fittings loosen in the same hole each time a bed is taken apart, which is why flat pack frames feel sound for a year and rattle after two house moves. Bolts into solid timber hold considerably better.
Two things help. Tighten every fixing at six months and then annually, because a squeaking bed is almost always a loosened joint rather than a broken part. And if a fixing strips, IKEA's parts availability is a genuine advantage: replacement fittings are stocked for years, which is not true of most flat pack furniture.
Check the slat spacing too: no more than about 7.5 centimetres, because wider gaps cause sagging and void most mattress guarantees. And on a double or larger, a centre rail with a supporting leg.
What the long guarantee covers
IKEA offers a long guarantee on many mattresses, which is genuinely unusual at this price, and it is worth reading rather than assuming.
Mattress guarantees typically cover body impressions beyond a stated depth, commonly around 25 to 30 millimetres, measured with the bedding removed. They typically exclude damage from an unsuitable base, stains of any kind, and normal softening.
Two of those three are within your control. Fit a protector before the first night, because a stain voids most guarantees absolutely, and measure your slat gaps, because the frame both causes the impressions and disqualifies the claim.
Your statutory rights sit alongside it: under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 those are with the retailer, for up to six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and five in Scotland.
The bedding you will need alongside
Deep fitted sheets, sized in centimetres to the actual mattress depth rather than bought by name. Standard sheets are cut for about 25 centimetres.
A protector, breathable rather than plastic-backed, because a cheap plastic one blocks air as well as liquid.
A duvet one size up from the bed, so it hangs over the sides rather than sliding off. In European sizing, check the duvet dimensions too, because European duvets are cut differently.
What not to do
Buy by size name. Check the centimetres on every item, including bedding.
Assume your existing sheets will fit. Every European size differs from its UK equivalent.
Buy a European frame planning to use a UK mattress.
Skip tightening the fixings. Six months, then annually.
Buy cheap foam over a pocket sprung model at similar money. Springs move air and resist impressions better.
Also considered, and why they are not here
A roundup is only as useful as what it leaves out, so here is what was assessed and rejected for this list.
| Product | Why it is not on the list |
|---|---|
| IKEA Sofa Bed | Scores 6.5. Sensible value, and the mattress has to fold into a sofa, so judge it as occasional sleeping rather than as a bed. |
| IKEA Pillows | Inexpensive and a sensible way to test a height before spending. Height is what decides whether a pillow works, not firmness. |
| IKEA Duvets | Check the dimensions in centimetres, because European duvets are cut differently, and check the tog: 7 to 10.5 suits most modern UK bedrooms. |
| Emma Original Lite | A three-zone pocket spring layer at £199 in UK sizes with a 200 night trial, which is the comparison worth making. |
| Silentnight Sleep Now | From £169 in UK sizes, from a manufacturer trading since 1946. Confirm whether the springs are pocketed for a shared bed. |
How this list is made, and who made it
Independence
No brand pays to appear on this site and no placement is sold. Some links earn a commission if you buy, which never changes a score, an order or a verdict. Several of the lowest scores here are on products that carry commission, and several recommendations carry none.
Who writes this. Kyle Klinkradt has worked in the mattress and bedding industry for over ten years across retail, distribution and brand partnerships, and has handled, sold or assessed products from every major UK bed-in-a-box brand. Every review on this site is written by one person, so the scores mean the same thing from page to page.
What the assessment is. Construction specifications against what they physically do: spring height and where in the mattress it sits, spring count for the size, gauge, whether the base is sprung or foam, foam density where it is published, comfort layer depth and material. Then the commercial terms that decide what you are actually buying: trial against returns policy, guarantee length against the company's UK trading history at Companies House, and the regulatory record.
What it is not. This is not a laboratory. I do not publish pressure-mapping data or claim to have slept eight years on every mattress here, because nobody has and pages that imply otherwise are not telling you the truth. Where a judgement rests on construction rather than long-term use, the review says so.
What gets a product removed. Leaving the UK market, a specification change that makes the review inaccurate, or a corrected fact. Brands that have withdrawn are kept on the site with the score removed rather than quietly deleted, because people still search for them.
See editorial independence, corrections and the author page.
How these were chosen
Every product here has its own review on this site with a score out of 10, and the score is a judgement rather than an average. Nothing appears in a list because it pays more.
A score is against the market, not against its own range. The cheapest mattress in a lineup is usually priced to make the model above it look reasonable, and the flagship of a budget range has risen into a bracket where better brands compete. Both are judged against what else you could buy for the money.
Everything listed can actually be bought in the UK. That is not a given: Casper withdrew in July 2020 and Leesa no longer sells here, and both still appear in current British roundups with affiliate links attached.
I do not pad the list. Where only three or four products genuinely qualify, there are three or four. A list of seven when the category contains four good ones is a list with three bad recommendations in it.
Prices move constantly. Judge the cash price on the day rather than any percentage beside it. See every review on this site or where the real savings are.
Questions people ask
Are IKEA mattresses UK sizes?
Some are and many are European. A European double is 140 by 200 centimetres against a UK double at 135 by 190, and a European king is 160 by 200 against a UK king at 150. Check the centimetres on the product page rather than the size name.
Will UK sheets fit an IKEA bed?
Not if the bed is a European size, because every European size differs from its UK equivalent in width and often in length. A European double is ten centimetres longer than a UK one.
Are IKEA mattresses any good?
The pocket sprung models are reasonable for the money, and at this price a spring layer is generally a better buy than foam, because springs move air and resist body impressions better.
Why does my IKEA bed frame squeak?
Almost always a loosened cam lock fitting rather than a broken part. Tighten every fixing at six months and then annually, and replacement fittings are stocked for years if one strips.